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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23076136">Of Secrets and Flowers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkbrush/pseuds/Inkbrush'>Inkbrush</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd Needs a Hug, Dimitri's Quilt, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Literal Sleeping Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Pre-time skip but they're both over 18, Recovery, Soft Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Tragedy of Duscur (Fire Emblem), Worldbuilding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:07:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,594</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23076136</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkbrush/pseuds/Inkbrush</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>The gifting of a hand-knitted quilt is a major declaration in Duscur society. They are often given to a romantic partner preceding a marriage proposal.</i>
</p><p>Or: Dedue weaves Dimitri a quilt, thinking he'll never learn it's significance. He does.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Dedue Molinaro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>123</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Of Secrets and Flowers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I thank the Dimidue discord for this. Also special thanks to duraraross, who prompted the quilt idea and provided me screenshots of Dimitri's quilt. Thanks guys!<br/>Also, all the Duscur words were made up on the spot based on what I thought sounded good, and are not based on any one real language.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Who in their right mind would title a book <em> The Cardinality of Duscur in Settlement and Expansion? </em> Was the author’s aim to have their book forgotten for all time? He didn’t even know what “cardinality” meant, so he had reservations about his ability to understand the thick tome. Dimitri coughed, the shelves in this corner of the library caked in dust. Even Ashe and Linhardt didn’t visit this section. Unfortunately, after scouring the  library, Dimitri had found a total of three books about Duscur. The first was <em> Duscur: A Treacherous Nation </em> . The second: <em> The Savage North - A History of Duscur </em> . And third, whatever <em> this </em> was… </p><p> </p><p>No wonder Dedue never visited the library.</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri had no interest in reading bigoted retellings of Faerghus’ “glorious defeat of the Duscur barbarians”. He’d been hoping to learn of Duscur customs, so he might understand Dedue better, but it seemed Garreg Mach didn’t think the subject was worth--</p><p> </p><p>Wait.</p><p> </p><p>He’d missed one. Dimitri crouched and tilted his head to read the faded letters of a tome shoved into the bottom shelf. <em> A Compendium of Duscur Customs </em>. </p><p> </p><p>Dimtri hooked his fingers into the age-softened spine and dragged it out in a puff of dust. Skimming the first page, Dimitri rejoiced. It was a translation from Duscurian into Faergan, not told from the perspective of a lifeless Faergan scholar. This was perfect.</p><p> </p><p>-0-</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri flipped a yellowed page and double-taked. There was a full-page illustration of a patterned quilt. </p><p> </p><p>It was similar to a quilt Dedue had given him as a birthday present last year. Sylvain had mentioned that Dedue had been knitting it by hand for some months before, picking out intricate needlework patterns over many nights. How Sylvain knew this, Dimitri hadn’t thought to ask, so horrified that Dedue had poured such effort into a birthday present Dimitri clearly didn’t deserve.</p><p> </p><p>The thought of his friend doing such a thing for him filled his heart with an emotion he’d rather not analyse, lest it consume him.</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri read the opening line, stopped dead, and felt his face catch fire.</p><p> </p><p>-0-</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Chapter 5 </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Quilts </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The gifting of a hand-knitted quilt is a major declaration in Duscur society. Meaning can vary based on the pattern of the quilt, but they are often given to a romantic partner preceding a marriage proposal. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>-0-</p><p> </p><p>Of the few things Dimitri had brought with him to Garreg Mach, the quilt was his favourite. Dimitri ran his hand over the weave, the thread imbued with the colours of the flowers Dedue cared for in the greenhouse: the dark sun-bitten shade of purple wisteria, embroidered all over with patterns of lavender and violet.</p><p> </p><p>Traced around the edges of the quilt were diamonds within diamonds. Dimitri squinted at the book in his lap. The book included a helpful guide on traditional symbols, their Duscur translations, and meanings. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Diamonds (Porvir) </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Porvir represent strength. They might indicate that the maker of the quilt will use all of their strength to protect their partner.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Well… At least it wasn’t a marriage proposal. Dimitri already knew Dedue would do anything to protect him, as much the idea terrified him. This wasn’t any new information. A nice friendship gift, that’s all. No need to lose his head.</p><p> </p><p>The next symbol, repeated all over the quilt, were four leaves, meeting at their tips to form a diamond. Apparently this particular symbol was a popular one, as it had its own entry.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Four leaves in a diamond (Shacan) </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The Shacan is the traditional Duscur symbol for devotion. It was thought to signify a person’s devotion to their fiance or a friend they would die for. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Woah! Okay, okay, so Dedue was devoted to him, he got it, no surprises there. The fiance thing was probably not relevant in this situation anyway. It was fine. Fine and normal. </p><p> </p><p>Deep breaths. Dimitri had had many a long night to deliberate on his feelings, turning them over and over until they threatened to consume him, their roiling darkness held at bay only by the warmth of that soft quilt, clutched tight around him, the only comforting presence he was allowed. During one of those nights, he’d concluded two things: 1) He was in love with Dedue, and 2) Dedue would never love him back. Dimitri was of the monsters who’d slaughtered his people. He wasn’t deserving of Dedue’s love, so he couldn’t delude himself, even for a second, that it could be a possibility.</p><p> </p><p>This quilt… He ran his fingers over an embroidered flutter of butterflies. The quilt was just a --</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Butterflies (Faranessa) </em>
</p><p>
  <em> A cluster of butterflies means forgiveness and rebirth. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri’s heart stopped. What-- </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Faranessa butterflies are a species native to Duscur. When a Faranessa caterpillar shares its food with another, then the two will often share a chrysalis during metamorphosis, emerging with similarly patterned wings. These butterflies mate for life. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri was not blind. The Faergan royal family had comitted genocide -- that could never be forgiven. And humans didn’t have rebirth like butterflies, so what could this mean? He was confused. It was too much. It made that feeling appear again in his chest, the tight, painful feeling.</p><p> </p><p>There was only one other discernible pattern on the quilt. Scatters of flowers blooming in and over the other patterns, around the edges, knotted into the tassels. </p><p> </p><p>At the bottom of the page:</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Flowers (Canalia) </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Canalia are the most potent and important symbol a quilt can contain.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Time, dust, and insects had eaten away at the page, leaving the rest of the entry as a jumble of letters. Dimitri groaned internally.</p><p> </p><p>A knock sounded at the door. “Your Highness?” came a voice from without.</p><p> </p><p>Excellent. Now he could get to the bottom of this. “Come in, Dedue!”</p><p> </p><p>Dedue entered, arms full of flower pots blooming brilliant yellow flourishes of petals.</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri ran his hand over the delicate whorls of a stitched flower and said, apropos of nothing, “Dedue, what does “Canalia” mean?”</p><p> </p><p>A great crash echoed around the room, a cloud of dirt flying into the air. When the smog cleared, Dimitri saw Dedue’s face, mouth slightly ajar, cheeks turning red. “I--” Dedue’s eyes snapped to the mess of leaves, dirt, and petals at his feet. “Forgive me, Your Highness. I’ll clean this up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry about it. Please, just tell me.”</p><p> </p><p>Dedue suddenly found the opposite window fascinating. “I-- That is-- It’s hard to explain, Your Highness.”</p><p> </p><p>“Please. Try.”</p><p> </p><p>Incredible how Dedue could mow down enemies in battle, and yet his face reddened so much just speaking of flowers.</p><p> </p><p>“Canalia is a flower from Duscur. It’s also a word that means… uh… I’m not familiar with the Faergan word. It’s like… when two people…” Dedue’s voice became strangled, “They care about each other, a lot,” Dedue finished lamely.</p><p> </p><p>“Like friends?” said Dimitri.</p><p> </p><p>“More,” said Dedue.</p><p> </p><p>Oh. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Oh. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri’s world flipped, too fast to catch, too fast to process.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” said Dimitri, “It means love.”</p><p> </p><p>-0-</p><p> </p><p>“I-- It was horribly inappropriate of me to include that in the quilt, Your Highness. I don’t know how I can --” Dedue stared at the rug. “To be honest, I didn’t think you’d ever find out. Duscur is gone, I wasn’t aware there were any sources of information about our culture left.”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s that,” said Dimtri, gesturing to the book, “There’s you.”</p><p> </p><p>-0-</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> There’s you. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>-0-</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri had never been good at emotions, his coping strategy being “Bottle it up and try to forget”. For some reason, trying to forget never worked, but that didn’t mean he’d stop trying. Dimitri liked action. Talking about the past was hard, and it hurt, but action was good. </p><p> </p><p>The world had tilted on its axis, so why not tilt it a little more? Before he could think, Dimitri had taken hold of Dedue’s collar.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t know much about love, but he knew enough about his feelings to say this.  “I love you too, Dedue. And as I’ve told you many times, it’s Dimitri.”</p><p> </p><p>“Dimitri…” The shock seemed to have knocked Dedue from the rigid structure of his mind.</p><p> </p><p>Dimtri looked up into Dedue’s wide eyes. “You can hold me, you know. If you’d like.”</p><p> </p><p>Dedue’s eyes softened. One arm wrapped around Dimitri’s waist, the other curling in soft blond hair. “Dimitri… We shouldn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>Clutching Dedue’s collar, “Our past, I know there’s a lot, and we can talk about it, but please, not right now. Just for now, will you hold me?”</p><p> </p><p>With a voice dropping an octave, “I <em> am </em> holding you. It’s wrong of me, but I don’t want to let go.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then don’t,” said Dimitri.</p><p> </p><p>Dedue bent his head to touch their foreheads together. “Dimitri.” He kept saying that, as if now that he’d started, he couldn’t stop, consequences be damned. Growling low, Dedue said, <em> “Dimitri… Esta cordula carnalia voi.” </em>Before he could ask, Dedue continued, “That is a proverb from Duscur. It means, ‘I will love you until the end.”</p><p> </p><p>“How do I say, ‘I’ll love you beyond that”?”</p><p> </p><p>A string of syllables fell from Dedue’s tongue. Dimitri repeated it as best he could, probably butchering it. It seemed to make little difference to Dedue as (for perhaps the first time since they’d met) Dedue’s mouth turned up in a smile. </p><p> </p><p>Tilting his head up, Dimtri let their mouths connect, tentatively, carefully. Absently, Dimitri thought, perhaps humans had more in common with butterflies after all.</p><p> </p><p>-0-</p><p> </p><p>As it turned out, there <em> was </em> something more comforting than huddling into Dedue’s quilt. And that was huddling into Dedue, the quilt wrapped around them both. The flowers kept them safe. The flowers kept them warm.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments are my life blood.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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